Dr. José Assouline, a neurobiologist and AIDS researcher at the
University of Iowa College of Medicine, has spent several years creating the
animations below. They graphically represent the life cycle of HIV-1, from the
initial binding of the viral particle onto a host cell (Viral Entry), through
insinuation into the host cell's nucleus to spark the formation of new viral
RNA strands (Viral Gene Transfer), and finally to the creation and migration
out of the cell of a new HIV particle, complete with two copies of viral RNA
(Viral Exit).

The complete life cycle is shown below. To see each of the three steps more
slowly, and to learn exactly what's happening in each, click on the three
thumbnail images below.